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I always admired Californian's for doing Prop 13. I wish we had something like that here in Florida. The problem is that because the Republicans have been successful drying up the money state used to get from the federal government, they have been forced to go after their own residents. The problem with property taxes is that you get penalized for living in a nice house. The one thing, the most important possession a family has is their home.
I am not talking about the taxes someone pays on a McMansion, but just a simple house, especially a modest home that doubled in value during the inflated bubble.
Now cities are crying because their 'proposed budgets' are are being depleted by declining values and foreclosures. The stupid, greedy municipalities figured this windfall would be the new baseline and instead of setting the money aside, raised their budgets accordingly. Now they want to raise property taxes again to make up for the shortfall.
No one wants to invest in home improvement because of fear it will result in higher assessments. how crazy is that? Instead of seeing neighborhoods improve, neighborhoods look run down.
Home improvement used to be the staple of Ameicana, now it is an invitation to getting reamed by the taxman.
